One Phone Call Changed Everything

By Tracie Foster

The morning of August 6, 2025, started like any other day for 39-year-old Matthew Savage. A lineman with Horry Electric Cooperative, Inc., based out of Conway, South Carolina, Matthew dressed, checked on his two children who were still out of school for summer break, and prepared for what he expected to be a normal workday.

By mid-morning, Matthew was already busy with his crew working in the North Myrtle Beach area. Around lunchtime, they stopped at a local restaurant and while sitting at the table, Matthew began feeling a dull pain in his upper back.

“About 30 minutes into lunch, the pain progressively got worse,” he recalled.

“It began to radiate down my arm and into my chest. I could take a deep breath, but it hurt every time I did. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right.”

Having a history of heart disease on both sides of his family, Matthew’s concern grew as the pain intensified. “With my family history, my first thought was something could be going on with my heart,” he said.

After lunch, Matthew rode back toward Conway with a coworker. As they drove, the pain rapidly escalated.

“I kept repositioning in my seat to alleviate the pain, but nothing worked,” he explained.

That’s when Matthew picked up the phone and called Tiffany McCaskill, McLeod Nurse Practitioner at Horry Electric Cooperative’s Employee Health Center. “I asked if she was in the office and told her I was in pain and needed her to check me out,” Matthew said.

When Matthew arrived at the employee health center, Tiffany immediately began assessing his symptoms. He described having pain behind his right shoulder blade that worsened with deep breaths, along with chest discomfort. Tiffany placed Matthew on telemetry, equipment used to continuously track a person’s heart rate and rhythm, and performed an electrocardiogram, or EKG, to rule out cardiac concerns.

“I had seen Matthew for the occasional sick visit, so when he called requesting to come in, I knew something was wrong,” said Tiffany. “When he arrived and started to explain the way his pain worsened with deep breaths, coupled with his overall distress, it raised red flags. Even though the initial tests did not point to a heart attack, I knew something wasn’t right and that he needed further evaluation immediately.”

After reviewing the results and observing Matthew’s condition, Tiffany directed that he be immediately transported to the McLeod Health Carolina Forest Emergency Department.

After several tests were performed, Matthew received news that would change his life forever.

“When the doctor came in to tell me what they had found, I was shocked,” remembers Matthew. “The doctor explained that I had a pulmonary embolism in my right lung.”

A pulmonary embolism is a serious and potentially life-threatening medical condition where a blood clot blocks an artery in the lung. This blockage stops the blood flow, preventing oxygen from reaching part of the lung, causing shortness of breath, chest pain and a rapid heart rate.

“They immediately started me on blood thinners through my IV,” Matthew explained. “After monitoring me for several hours, I was discharged with instructions to rest and to follow up with my primary care provider.”

Looking back, Matthew says the convenience of having an onsite employee health center played a crucial role in how quickly he received care.

“If it hadn’t been that easy to just call Tiffany and walk in, I probably wouldn’t have seen anyone that day, and I don’t know what would have happened.”

For Matthew, the Horry Electric Cooperative, Inc. Employee Health Center offers another important benefit, care for his family.

When his children are sick, he ca n quickly schedule an appointment to get them t he c a re they need. “With two children and everything else going on in life, it’s hard to fit in appointments,” Matt hew said. “Having the care center right here on campus just makes everything easier.”

Today, Matthew is back to his normal routine, working full time, exercising regularly and spending time with his children. He is grateful for the quick action and easy access to care that helped turn an ordinary workday into a life-saving moment. What began as a dull ache became a powerful reminder that listening to your body, and having trusted healthcare close by, can make all the difference.

For Matthew, the onsite health center wasn’t just convenient, it was critical. By providing the right care at the right time, the onsite health center made it possible for Matthew to get back to his health, his family and the work he loves.

McLeod Onsite Health partners with local businesses and industries, like Horry Electric Cooperative, Inc., to help keep their workforce healthy, safe and productive. McLeod Onsite Health provides onsite health centers for 15 industries in Florence, Chesterfield, Dillon, Horry, and Williamsburg Counties. These centers offer a wide range of services including work-related injury care, Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals, drug and alcohol screenings, pre-employment exams, same-day sick visits, chronic condition management, wellness screenings and care coordination with primary care providers or specialists when needed.

Understanding from an employer and employee point of view that time away from work is lost productivity and wages, employees in these industries have immediate access to an onsite provider without ever having to leave their workplace. In addition to providing care to their employees, some industries extend these services to the employee’s family members as well as retirees.